Hinged orthopedic braces are commonly employed to stabilize a skeletal joint of a user when the joint has been weakened by injury or other infirmity. The brace typically has a structural frame that is made up of a plurality of rigid or stiffened support components dynamically linked together by one or more hinges to support the joint during user activity. The frame is mounted on the body of a user such that the hinges traverse the joint being stabilized, while the support components are secured to the body by a system of pliant straps. Solid elastomeric pads or fluid-filled pneumatic pads are attached to the inside of the frame to cushion the user's body from the frame and provide a stable base of support for the frame against the user's body.
Despite such pads, the user frequently experiences discomfort from painful point loads while wearing a closely-fitted brace because of the high forces the brace applies to the body during routine or rehabilitative physical activity. The discomfort is attributable to improper compression characteristics in conjunction with improper sizing and configuration of the pads. Known pads are generally not configured in conformance with the structure of the brace and the contours of the body. Furthermore known pads are not readily adaptable to transient changes that body tissue undergoes, such as swelling or shrinkage, during routine or rehabilitative physical activity.
Elastomeric or pneumatic pads configured in conformance with the patella have been utilized in pliant or "soft" knee braces. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,201,203 and 4,777,946 disclose soft knee braces having an elastomeric patella pad. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,378,009 and 4,938,207 disclose soft knee braces having inflatable pneumatic patella pads. Pneumatic pads adequately conformed to the body, however, have not been utilized in hinged orthopedic braces having rigid or stiffened frames. U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,400 discloses an orthopedic brace having inflatable pneumatic pads positioned between the ankle of the user and the rigid support components of the brace. U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,823 discloses a thigh guard having an inflatable pneumatic pad positioned between the thigh and a rigid protective shell. In both instances, however, the pads are not significantly configured in conformance with the corresponding body contours.
Some hinged orthopedic braces have specifically addressed the problem of closely fitting the rigid frame of the brace with the knee or elbow joint of the body while simultaneously cushioning the body from the rigid frame. French patent publication FR 2627-381-A discloses a brace having a pair of disk-shaped fluid-filled pads positioned on the frame of the brace to abut the knee or elbow condyles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,741 discloses a brace having a doughnut-shaped solid felt or rubber pad positioned between the rigid frame of the brace and the medial meniscus of the knee. Yet, the art does not disclose pneumatic pads configured in substantial conformance with the contours of the user's body for use with hinged orthopedic braces having rigid or stiffened frames.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace having a rigid or stiffened structural frame that can be secured to the body of a user with both a high degree of stable support and a high degree of user comfort. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lightweight pneumatic pad attachable to the frame of an orthopedic brace that comfortably stabilizes the frame against the body of the user by dynamically conforming to and firmly gripping the contours of the body while fully cushioning the body contours from the rigid or stiffened support components of the frame. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a pump associated with the pad to facilitate selective inflation of the pad when desired, thereby enhancing the comfort of the user and the stability of the frame against the body.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an off-the-shelf orthopedic brace that can be adapted to fit the body contours of any number of users. It is another object of the present invention to provide a custom orthopedic brace that is readily configured to changing body contours of a specific individual user. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace having a fit that can be instantaneously adapted to the requirements of different activities by the user. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic brace having a fit that can be instantaneously adjusted to transient conditions of the body such as localized tissue swelling or shrinkage.